Propaganda During World War 1

Biased or misleading information that lacks an objective and it is used in promoting a given political cause or a point of view is known as propaganda. It is often viewed as a systematic effort of manipulating the beliefs, actions or attitudes of other people using symbols. Apart from it being intentional, propaganda lays a heavy emphasis on manipulation. In war, propaganda is a powerful dehumanizing weapon used in creating or worsening the hatred towards a supposed enemy, by creating a false image of them. In this essay, the primary focus will be to provide a brief critical analysis of the power of propaganda with respect to the mobilization of the war effort.

Propaganda was employed on a global scale during the world war. A key characteristic of the world war was the fact that the entire nations, in addition to their armies were locked in mortal combat. Therefore, in the proposal to mobilize masses against the targeted enemy, propaganda was used. It was used in the justification of the cause, recruiting the support, cooperation, and relationship of the countries which were neutral, and strengthening the support of the allies. Typical examples are the atrocities propaganda used against the Germans and the use of commercial advertising by means of propaganda.

The arrival of mass media during the world war made propaganda to be an important element of wartime mobilization. The media was an important tool particularly during the war between Germans and the British, when they all opted for winning the sympathy of the Americans. Posters were used in the spreading of propaganda. Essentially, propaganda was used as a tool of darkening and black painting the enemy, so that the parties involved could get more following from the people who were not allied to any particular